


Person of Interest

by MechBull



Series: Follower Appreciation & Tumblr Meme Ficlets [7]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 07:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8880652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechBull/pseuds/MechBull
Summary: Prompt: falling in love with their best friend’s partner au





	

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a fan of anything that reeks of infidelity. So you get this instead.

“Turbo! You’re back!”

“Ugh, finally,” Fitz acknowledged his roommate of about three months and probably the closest thing he had to a best friend. He pulled his luggage inside, leaving the cases by the front door to drag to his room later. “My hour layover in O’Hare turned into three.”

“What did I tell you, man?” 

“Never fly through Chicago,” they said simultaneously.

“I know,” Fitz continued, walking past the couch with barely a glance. “But it was the only reasonable price I could find, and I needed to get back to work.”

“Fair enough,” Mack allowed. “How was the field?”

“Amazin’,” Fitz shouted from the kitchen. “The tests went well; there’s enough potential for more funding.”

“Congratulations!”

Fitz handed Mack one of the beers he had grabbed, then flopped onto the couch, twisting the top off his own bottle. “What about you? How are things at the precinct?”

“Got a new partner,” Mack said, casually. Too casually.

“Mmm,” Fitz replied, with a noncommittal raise of his eyebrow. He took a swig. 

“Simmons.”

Mack seemed determined to make him ask for details, for some reason. So, Fitz obliged.

“What’s he like?”

“She.” And at that Fitz sighed. He leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes and waited for the inevitable – “I think you’d like her actually. She’s British. Definitely the brains to my brawn.”

Fitz scoffed. “You’re a regular Sherlock, Mack. And a small tank.”

“Not like this girl. She’s got a Ph.D. in Biochem and another one in something else I can’t pronounce.”

He had to admit he was intrigued by that. “What’s she doing working as a detective? Uh…no offense.”

Mack waved his hand. “None taken. She said she was tired of working in a lab. Wanted to get out, see the world, use her knowledge for good.”

“He’s a mechanic; she’s a biochemist. Together, they fight crime,” Fitz joked.

“Something like that,” Mack agreed, smirking slightly as he took a sip from his beer. 

Fitz closed his eyes again, nestling down against the cushions and trying to de-stress from the airport. He hoped Mack would let it drop now. 

“Anyway, thought you might like to get to know her.”

“She’s your partner,” Fitz replied, trying to feign ignorance. “You should be the one bonding with her.”

“Come on, man. She’s smart, beautiful – ”

“Mack! How many times – ?”

“It’s been _four_ months since you broke up with Aida.”

“I loved her. I need time.”

“You didn’t love her. You dated her for three weeks. You never even slept together. You said she showed as much emotion as a robot. You said your whole quote-unquote relationship was like a piece of computer code stuck in an unending loop.”

“…Still.”

“At least – ”

“Mack! I just got home! I got a lot of work to catch up on. Let it go.”

Mack sighed. “Fine. For now.”

**

“Anything else?” Coulson asked.

“Fitz is back from the field,” Mack reported. “Sounds like things went well.”

Coulson nodded. “OK. And anything on the –?”

“Not much on the android itself,” Simmons chimed in, “but I’ve been reading some more of Radcliffe’s work. It’s _fascinating_ , particularly where he – sorry, sir.” 

“Find him. Soon.”

With that, the meeting was dismissed. Coulson turned to talk to May, while Skye and the new Inhuman, Elena, who Mack kind of was interested in but he was trying to play it cool, were already discussing the next stages of their training. And that just left him and Simmons, so he figured he could start laying the groundwork on her end too. As many people he could get on his side before he proposed the idea to Coulson, the better. Plus, he really did think they were perfect for each other. 

“Hey, Simmons, have you had a chance to look over that gun design of Fitz’s?”

She glanced up at him as she walked back towards the lab. They were partners in the field, but he still felt more comfortable in the garage, and was willing to leave the centrifuges and whatnot to her. 

“Yes,” she confirmed. “It’s intriguing, but there’s no way I – or rather, someone – could create paralysis from that small of a dose. It would need to be modified. And the name would need to be changed.”

“What’s wrong with the name?”

“Oh, Mack. The _night-night_ gun?”

Mack shrugged. “Kinda clever.”

“I think you’ve been living with him too long.”

“He’s actually a genius.”

Jemma hummed, half-paying attention as she put her notepad down and pulled two gloves from the box at her desk. “He didn’t realize he was dating an android.”

“To be fair, would that be anyone’s first guess?”

Jemma shrugged, then smiled at him. “Sorry, Mack, I know you like him. I’m just teasing.”

Mack hesitated, then finally decided to reveal his plan to her. “I think he would be a good fit for the team. I think Coulson should offer him a job when this is all said and done. Will you back me up?”

To his relief, Jemma didn’t immediately dismiss the idea. “Well, I’d have to learn more about him before I could form my own opinion.”

“Why don’t you come over for dinner sometime? Meet him, talk science. You can get more experience on your cover story.”

Jemma tilted her head. “Maybe. Now go away and let me do some work.”

**

All of Mack’s careful plans were for naught, however, because he discovered a frantic voicemail from Fitz as soon as he checked his phone. He hurried back to the lab he had just left Jemma in.

“Simmons, we need to go.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Someone broke into Fitz’s lab while he was gone. Tech’s missing.”

“Oh no!”

**

Fitz ran his hands through his hair for probably the twentieth time in the last hour, before dropping them to place them on his hips. He watched the crime scene people clomp their way through his extremely expensive equipment and disrupt his carefully organized supply stations. It was all he could to do to bite his tongue, and frankly he was losing that battle.

“Turbo!”

Fitz sighed in relief, turning to the door. Finally, someone with a modicum of competence and intelligence.

“Mack, I…”

He trailed off, tongue tying into knots. The woman who entered alongside Mack was incredibly beautiful. She stared back at him – dare he hope equally in awe? Doubtful. But with some kind of reaction, at least, something that made her pause, take a sharp breath and look quickly away. She took in the lab, and it honestly was several seconds before Fitz remembered the destruction. She was the only thing worth looking at, as far as he was concerned.

Mack cleared his throat loudly, and Fitz jumped.

“Sorry. Did you say something?”

“Nah,” Mack replied, smirking just slightly enough to annoy Fitz. “But let’s start from the top. When did you get here? What did you see?”

Fitz launched into the story, going off on unnecessary tangents judging by the way Mack rolled his hand to get him moving when Fitz described the line at the corner tea shop where he’d stopped for a cup. 

“Oh! I love that place!”

Fitz turned to the woman again, bizarrely blushing. It matched her own flush, at least, which blossomed across her cheeks when Mack turned to stare at her. 

“Sorry, irrelevant,” she muttered, hiding her face by scribbling in her notebook. 

“Fitz, this is Jemma Simmons, my new partner,” Mack finally introduced her, sounding entirely too amused. “Simmons, Leo Fitz, my roommate.”

Fitz gladly took the opportunity to take the few steps across the room to shake her hand. He might have imagined the spark that flew between them, but he was definitely sure he held onto her hand for too long. The odd thing was – she didn’t seem to mind. 

His attention half on Detective Simmons the entire time, Fitz continued his story, ending with describing the still-locked door and the chaos behind it. 

“Is there anyone else with a key?” Mack asked. 

Fitz fought a smirk. “A key, Mack? Do you really think this room is secured with a _key_? You need a swipe card and a passcode, and I’m the only one with both. 

“Can it be hacked?”

Fitz shrugged. “Doubtful. You only get three errors before the system locks down and sends an alert to the security company.”

“Hmmm.”

“And there’s no one – ” Detective Simmons began, pausing when Fitz turned to look at her. She looked down at her notepad, even as she lifted a hand to tuck a chunk of hair behind her ear. “There’s, um, no one you might have said something to? A – a disgruntled ex-girlfriend, maybe?”

Fitz tried to hide his double take. Was she…fishing around to see if he was single? He glanced at Mack, who had a pained sort of expression on his face.

“No. Uh, no,” Fitz replied awkwardly. “I don’t – there’s not – I wouldn’t – no.”

Mack turned around, muttering something under his breath. And Simmons, if anything, just looked frustrated. Maybe that wasn’t the answer she was looking for, after all.

**

“Subtle.”

Jemma glanced at Mack as she walked around to the passenger side of the SUV. 

“What was?”

“The question about disgruntled girlfriends.”

Jemma grinned. “Oh, yes! I thought it would have brought up the android. Clearly, if anything could hack the security system, it could. But alas…”

“Was that the only reason?”

Jemma tilted her head. “What other reason would there be? 

She was only further confused when Mack sighed and opened his car door without another word.

**

“So, um…Mack?”

Mack stared back at him, waiting. He had a feeling what – or rather, who – Fitz wanted to talk about, judging by the discomfort and yet urgent excitement coming off his roommate in waves. It seemed the dismay of the break-in was taking a backseat to the delight over a certain biochemist. 

“No leads yet on the break-in,” he replied, biting the inside of his cheek a bit at Fitz’s immediate look of shame. 

“Oh! Oh…right. Thanks. Do you – do you think you’ll be able to find anything?”

“I hope so.”

“Good, good.” Fitz trailed off awkwardly, looking down at the table he was tracing small circles on. “And if – I mean, should I tell you if I think of anything else? Or – I mean, I could go into the precinct too, I suppose.”

It was a close thing, but Mack stopped his chuckle at the feigned casualness. Sure, he could go into the precinct. Because that would be the easiest way, when they shared an apartment. Had nothing to do with wanting to see Simmons again. Mack rubbed his fingers across his mouth to hide his smile.

“Actually, Simmons will take the lead on this one. Good practice for her. Obviously I’ll work on it too – wouldn’t abandon you, Turbo, but if you have anything to add, you should – ”

“Call her! I will!” Fitz spun and walked away. Then he paused and seemed to remember himself. He looked over his shoulder. “Thanks, Mack!”

**

“Mack?”

Jemma lost some of her nerve when her very large, very caring partner faced her. She felt like she was about to destroy his living situation, his friendship, and his hopes for S.H.I.E.L.D. in one fell swoop. But she had run the tests several times, for his sake, if nothing else. (And, a tiny voice opined, because she probably wouldn’t have minded Fitz joining the team either. For his engineering genius! Strictly for his engineering genius.)

Jemma inhaled and sharply blew the breath out. Then she handed the file to Mack. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?” he looked confused, opening the folder to flip through the results as if that would answer his question. 

“He…told the truth. No one has been in that lab except him. No fingerprints anywhere. State of the art security system. I think we have to consider the possibility that he staged it.”

Mack scoffed loudly. “He was in the field, first of all.”

“Was he?” Jemma pressed. “You said he got home late.”

“Because of an airport delay!”

“Are you certain of that? Did you check with the airline?”

‘No, but I will. Just to prove you wrong. Why would he do something like that?”

Jemma shrugged. “Money? Sabotage? Maybe – maybe he’s working with Radcliffe and wanted – ”

“You’re talking crazy, Simmons. And hey! The android wouldn’t leave behind fingerprints, would she?”

“Oh, Mack. The simplest explanation – ”

“Jemma, trust me on this one. Look – ask him out for dinner or coffee or something. I guarantee once you know him better, you’ll see how preposterous the suggestion is.”

Jemma sighed. “OK, Mack. I will. For you.”

Aa Jemma walked away, she reminded herself that she was most likely right. And then she wondered if she should get a haircut before arranging to meet with him.

**

She had gotten a haircut since he’d last seen her. It somehow made her even more attractive.

Fitz didn’t know what surprised him the most – that he’d finally gotten up the nerve to call her with an incredibly weak question about the investigation, or that she’d immediately invited him out to the tea shop they both liked to discuss it more. They had barely talked about it at all yet, though. He’d asked about her second degree that Mack couldn’t remember, and they talked about being child prodigies who earned their doctorates – or, in her case, her first – only months after earning their drivers’ permits. She was rather noticeably vague about what she’d done after that, before joining the police force, though.

“What about you, Fitz?” she asked instead. “This AI software that was stolen – that’s your main line of research?”

“Oh no, not at all. I dabble in all sorts of things – nonlethal weapons, surveillance systems, drones and airplanes – actually, I’ve been working on these little robots that – I’d love to show them to you. I think you’d have some great insights.”

She looked intrigued for a brief moment, eyes lighting up with excitement, but then seemed to force it away. She leaned forward, again changing the subject back to the investigation. 

“Do you have any idea why that was the only thing taken in the break-in?”

Fitz shook his head. “No. Strange, isn’t it? I hadn’t even worked on it in months.”

“Why not?”

Fitz blushed, dropping his eyes from hers. “Ah. Um, well. I had only started working on it because this – this woman I was seeing at the time was in the field. I wanted to impress her.” He shrugged self-deprecatingly.

“And you broke up so you stopped working on it?”

Fitz thought about it for a second, brow furrowing. “No. Other way around actually. I had talked to my mum about it one day. She raised some ethical concerns I hadn’t really thought about. And – you know, said I should just be myself. Turns out my ex wasn’t too impressed with just me.”

He found he couldn’t look her in the eye after that probably too revealing confession. It wasn’t that he was upset about Aida herself. He hadn’t been in a long time, if – honestly – ever. They _had_ only dated a few weeks, after all. It was more that…she had been the first person who seemed to understand what Fitz was talking about. The first woman he could imagine having a future with, where he didn’t have to slow himself down and translate his mind back into English but could just really be _himself_. And she hadn’t been. Since then, Fitz wondered if there even was such a woman out there for him.

Now, he wondered if that woman was Jemma. 

“So, you sided with your mum over your girlfriend?”

And at that, Fitz’s head snapped up. He could feel himself blushing as he searched for a response. Jemma simply smirked.

“Are you a Mama’s Boy, Dr. Fitz?” she teased.

Fitz straightened, assuming an air of superiority. “I respect my mother’s opinion.”

“Good.”

The reply was fast and sincere, and Fitz had to stop himself from gaping. 

“I like that in a man,” Jemma added, winking at him, and Fitz snapped his mouth shut, focusing on the mug in front of him. 

After that, the case was forgotten. Coffee turned into a slice of pie, which turned into a walk through the park, which turned into Jemma returning to the lab with him to see the DWARFs. When they parted, Fitz desperately wanted to kiss her or ask her for a real date or – he told himself to wait, though. Wait until the investigation was complete, at least, so she wasn’t put in an awkward position. 

The only thing that made him feel better about that decision was that she looked very disappointed when she left without a word or move from him.

**

_You’re right. He didn’t do it._ Jemma texted to Mack as she walked away from Fitz’s lab.

A few minutes later, his reply came. _Told you so._

Jemma rolled her eyes and pocketed her phone. She should go back to the base, look through the evidence again, see if she spotted something new, see if there was anything at all that would tell them Holden Radcliffe’s current location, or even something about – 

“Why didn’t he ask me out?!” she blurted aloud, receiving a strange look from the person passing her in the opposite direction. 

_Why didn’t he kiss me?_ added a little voice inside her.

**

In the end, it was surprisingly simple. Fitz had told them about a particular piece of code he uses in all his work, and Daisy used that info to track and monitor online activity. There was a hit, and Jemma and Mack hopped on the plane. The mission was smooth and successful, at least after a… slight incident… involving a syringe and an eyeball that made Mack protest loudly.

Now they were flying back home. Radcliffe was secured. Aida was powered down and stored in the lab. Jemma herself was sitting on the bottom of the stairs, arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at the android. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mack, who sat down behind her – the stairs were far too narrow to sit side-by-side, especially for someone of his size. 

“I don’t think it’s all that pretty,” Jemma muttered, feeling vaguely petty. Was it unfeminist to be jealous of an android? “And I think it’s creepy that it’s anatomically correct.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Mack replied, a laugh hiding under the sympathy in his voice. “I don’t think Fitz ever knew that she was.”

Jemma lifted her nose into the air, sniffing dismissively. “Why would l care about that?”

“No reason,” Mack agreed too readily. “Anyway, did you want to update Fitz on the matter or – ”

“I _am_ the lead on this case, so of course I will.” 

“Well, I’ve got lots of paperwork to do, so you’ll have to go to the apartment yourself.”

“Fine.”

**

Fitz opened the door without even checking the peephole and then immediately regretted it. Not as much as he regretted pulling on his old sweatpants and Classic Doctor Who t-shirt after work, though. Didn’t exactly scream sex appeal to the opposite gender.

“Hi,” was the only greeting he could think of, accompanied by quickly running his hand through his hair. 

She gave him a once-over, and Fitz cringed again. But he bravely opened the door wider to invite her in.

“Is everything – ” he asked, leading her into the kitchen.

“It’s over,” she interrupted. “We found it.”

“Really?! Oh, that’s…brilliant, thank you. Who?”

“Holden Radcliffe.”

“ _Who?_ ”

“Doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” Jemma replied, smiling at him. “Our IT people are removing the software from Aida and will need to keep it – ”

“Excuse me?”

“Only until the trial; its evidence. You – ”

“No, no,” Fitz waved a hand dismissively, not at all concerned about the software itself, especially when… “Did you say _Aida_?”

“Oh, sorry.” She shook her head. “Yes, that’s the name Radcliffe gave his android.”

Fitz’s brain stopped processing for a beat, and then he literally dropped onto one of the chairs by the table. “Android,” he whispered.

Jemma hummed in acknowledgment, the tone almost sort of knowing, but Fitz couldn’t waste any time trying to figure that out.

“That was – that – what does she look like?”

“ _It_ is very lifelike. Dynamic reaction force could be better.”

“Yeah, I never quite – no, I mean…that was my ex’s name. Aida. She – oh my God.”

Jemma’s eyes opened extremely wide, as if she were trying to seem more shocked than she was. Fitz tilted his head curiously. 

“Jemma?”

She sat down – next to him, rather than across the table, he couldn’t help but notice. “Are you telling me you dated an android, Fitz?”

He barked a laugh, before lifting his hand to cover his mouth. He stared at her, still not quite accepting it. And then he forgot all about it when Jemma scooted closer.

“That concerns me a little, Fitz. You _do_ know the difference between a piece of tech and a real flesh and blood woman, don’t you?”

He dropped his hand, letting it fall onto his lap, as his breath grew shallow. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to look into her eyes or stare at her mouth. When she licked her lips, the decision was made for him.

“Maybe I should show you,” Jemma whispered. 

She learned forward, and he practically fell in his haste to meet her halfway. Her lips were warm and wet, firm at times and pliable at others, and when she slipped her tongue into his mouth, he groaned deeply. She splayed her hand across his neck, pointer finger sliding up just behind his earlobe even as her pinky slipped beneath the neck of his t-shirt. He shivered at how cold her fingers were, finding the temperature contrast between her extremities and her mouth fascinating. 

And then he did fall, but in a controlled way, dropping to his knees and shuffling closer to her chair. He wrapped his arms around her fully, pulling her into a hug even as he deepened the kiss. She responded by spreading her legs wider, opening a spot on the chair for him to climb onto. Once he was seated in front of her, she hooked her legs over his, using them to pull him snug against her. He pushed off the ground, using the leverage to grind against her. Jemma broke the kiss, moaning loudly in his ear, and she braced her hands on his shoulders to support herself as she pushed her lower body back against him, lifting her arse up to change the angle this way and that, trying to find the perfect point of contact. When she did, she squeaked sharply, and Fitz grinned against her lips. He raised one hand, reaching behind her to grab the back of the chair. Holding it firmly, he rocked his hips as best he could, driving against the spot she wanted again and again. Jemma’s head dropped back as she gasped and gasped, and Fitz took the opportunity to kiss her neck before burying his face in her cleavage. His free hand slid over her bunched-up skirt to drop to her thigh, which clenched beneath his palm as she pressed her feet down and lifted up again and again to meet him. 

A frustrating need for _more_ built inside him, and he knew the barrier of her tights and his sweatpants would soon become unbearable. With a heroic effort, he pulled away from her just enough to back off the chair. Her whine of protest was incentive to push the sweatpants down as fast as he could, nearly falling over as he kicked them off. She got the idea quickly, standing on rather shaky legs and lifting her skirt to reach her tights and pants. He reached his hands out, helping to strip them down, until she could at least lift one foot and peel them off. As soon as she lowered her foot to the ground, Fitz dropped back to his knees, wrapping an arm around her arse to hold her and to simultaneously hike her skirt up again. He latched his mouth to her, thrilling at the taste of her and the guttural cry he pulled from her. Definitely a real flesh and blood woman. 

He couldn’t enjoy her for long, however, before her fingers were pulling at his hair, dragging him away and up. He half-stood, kissing her fully as she repositioned them back onto the chair in the same position that had been working so well for them before. 

“Jemma,” he breathed out. “Jemma, I don’t have – ”

“I’m on the pill,” she interrupted. “And I’m healthy.”

“Me too.” 

“I don’t think robots can transmit – ”

“I _didn’t_ – ”

She cut him off with another kiss.

Moments later, she was leaning back in the chair, tilting her pelvis up and encouraging him to sink into her. Fitz did, entering her steadily until they were fully joined. He exhaled a rough breath, then pulled his head back to look at her. Her eyelids were half-closed, not quite hiding the gleam of pleasure in them, and her mouth was open, swollen and wet from his kisses, and twin splotches of red rested high on her cheekbones. Her hair was wildly mussed, and she drew her eyebrows together almost in frustration even as she squeezed her walls around him down below. 

Fitz took the hint, pulling out of her, then thrusting back in. He watched her the whole time, listening for the breath he pushed out of her and the way it sped up in time with the movement of their hips. Jemma’s hands dropped from his shoulders to clutch at his waist, her fingers wrapping in the material of his t-shirt on either side of the logo. Fitz moved his own hands, one sliding around to support her arse and pull her closer, the other between her legs where he pressed two fingers against her clit and began to rub. 

Jemma cried out, but instead of tilting away as she’d done earlier, she moved forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders, trapping his arm between them and requiring him to support her more as she rubbed her whole body against his. Fitz couldn’t wait to feel the skin of her breasts against his bare chest but knew it would have to be a different time. Oh God, he hoped there would be another time. Because this was going to end far too soon.

“Jemma,” he moaned, turning his head to suck at her neck. “Jemma, are you – ? I’m gonna – ”

“I’m so close,” was her breathless response, to Fitz’s relief. “I just need – please – ”

“Wha – ?”

“You! More, deeper. Harder.”

Fitz obliged, bracing himself to rock into her more forcefully, struggling to hold onto his control. 

“Oh, Fitz, faster – fast – yes – God, _oh!_ ”

She lifted her legs, hooking them at the ankles around his waist and changing their angle enough to let Fitz press even deeper into her. His own pleasure was so intense, he knew he wouldn’t last much longer, but judging by the way she was moaning nonstop, he knew he wasn’t the only one. Suddenly, she moved one hand down, tangling her fingers with his as they both fondled her clit, her ring and pinky fingers falling farther back to slide along his shaft as he moved within her. Within moments, she was climaxing, and he followed her over the edge with a shout. 

Fitz fought for breath, his head resting against her shoulder. He could hear her own labored breathing in his ear and felt the fingers of her free hand thread into his hair at the nape of his neck. He took one more deep breath, then forced his head up, grabbed her by the back of the head, and pulled her into a deep kiss. When they finally separated, they grinned at each other. 

“See the difference?” Jemma asked, impishly.

“Definitely won’t make that mistake again,” Fitz confirmed.

“Happy to repeat the lesson as often as needed.”

Fitz nodded solemnly. “How about as often as possible for the rest of our lives?”

Jemma pretended to think about it for a moment. “OK!” she agreed cheerfully.

She pulled him in for another kiss, and Fitz moved to meet her, before stopping suddenly. He grimaced, stifling a sound of complaint.

“What’s wrong?” Jemma asked immediately, concerned.

“This is a really hard chair.”

She started laughing, and Fitz shook his head. He slipped out of her, backed away and stood, then reached down for her hand. He pulled her to her feet, immediately turning from her and starting to lead her towards the hall that would take them to the bedrooms. 

“We should – Mack – ”

“Good point,” Fitz agreed, waiting as she grabbed their clothes from the ground. As soon as she had them, he tugged on her hand again, and she hurried along after him with a small giggle.

**

Two months later – after Radcliffe had gone on trial and was in prison, after the DWARFS, with Jemma’s help, were in the first round of trials, after Mack had teased them mercilessly about their relationship, and after Jemma had showed Fitz many times and many ways the differences between a woman and an android (he liked to pretend he still needed regular demonstrations, though) – the truth came out.

Oddly, he was more upset with Mack than with Jemma, wondering if they had ever been friends or if he had always been a half-suspect, half-source. But he got over it quickly; in a way, he wasn’t even all that surprised. Something had seemed off about the whole situation from the very beginning. And so he spent most of his first visit to the base looking around in awe at the various advanced tech and equipment. 

“What do you say, Dr. Fitz?” the boss – Coulson – had asked at the end of the tour. 

He couldn’t manage much more than a nod. Jemma cheered at that, leaping into his arms and peppering his face with kisses.

“Ah,” Coulson interrupted. “We have rules about that.”

“Oh, then never mind,” Fitz said immediately. “No.”

“You’d rather date Jemma than – ” he gestured expansively at the state of the art, and otherworldly, technology.

Fitz only had eyes for Jemma. “Yep,” he confirmed without hesitation.

“Good,” Coulson said before walking away. 

Fitz glanced after him, then looked at Jemma again. “Was that a test?”

“Yes.”

“Did I pass?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t get it.”

“We went through a lot, our little team. He’s very paternal.”

Fitz furrowed his brow. “I thought you just joined.”

“Oh no,” Jemma said, smiling and shaking her head. “I’ve been around longer than Mack. We just started working together, is all.”

“Has it all been a lie, Agent Simmons?”

Jemma smirked. “Those three little words I told you last night are true.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story brought to you by the fact that I have to fly through Chicago this year, and I'm just hoping I make it home before Christmas.


End file.
